Koihime Duel Omake: The Beginning of a Journey
by Starpion
Summary: Non-canon omake: alternate retelling of first three chapters, based around the first episode of the anime. After an attempt to stop a museum robbery, college student Anthony Calem is transported to an alternate version of ancient China, where for some odd reason, Duel Monsters exists! He and a new friend are then tasked with stopping the troublemaker Rinrin, but is she that bad?


On the ground, Anthony Calem groaned as he regained consciousness. As his eyes opened and closed, adjusting to the light, he immediately knew something was wrong when he saw trees.

"What the hell…"

Slowly, he began to go over the last hour or so he was awake in order to figure out where he was. Let's see, it was a Friday morning, so he didn't have any classes, and there was a Duel Monsters tournament in the card shop near his college. He had brought his cards, as well as the toy Duel Disk he had bought at a comic convention. However, he had arrived early, and decided to go to a nearby museum in order to kill some time. However, he had ended up being caught up with a robbery attempt, as someone tried to steal a bronze mirror, and Anthony tried to stop him. However, during their scuffle, the mirror had fallen and broken, resulting in a flash of white light. And now, it looked like Anthony was in the middle of a forest.

"Well, this is easily the strangest thing that's ever happened to me."

Slowly, he got up, adjusting his hat and his sunglasses. He brushed himself off, and looked through his satchel. Deck: check! Extra Deck: check! Duel Disk: check! However, he noticed that for some reason, rather than plastic, his Duel Disk felt like it was made from metal. He closed up his bag, and slung it back onto his right shoulder, before he heard soft chuckling behind him. His eyes shrunk in fear, as he slowly spun around, instantly regretting his decision.

There, before him, were three bandits in identical outfits, the most prominent feature of which being their yellow bandanas. One of them was rather tall and fat, another was thin and small with a long nose, and the leader, presumably, was somewhat muscular, with a thin mustache. The leader laughed once more, before he began to speak.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, boys? Some poor sap all alone, seemingly unarmed. A pity, huh?"

"Yeah, a pity that he ran into us," said the short bandit, as Anthony slowly began to back away.

"Look, guys, I don't want any trouble."

"Too bad, you got us," said the fat bandit.

"You know, I've never seen clothes like yours before," said the leader. "I bet that they'll cost a fortune!"

Anthony began to panic as he backed into a tree. He couldn't run, and he damn well couldn't fight. So out of desperation, he called for help.

"Somebody, anybody! HELP ME!"

The bandit leader chuckled as he drew a straight sword. "Cry for help as much as you want! But nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to come and help you!"

"Are you sure about that, you bandit scum!?"

Suddenly, a new voice made itself be known, as a woman burst through the foliage, causing everyone to turn towards her. Anthony's jaw dropped: the woman was gorgeous. Her beautiful amber eyes, her long and luscious black hair, her large…ahem...assets. But two other things caught his attention. One, her choice of clothing. The newcomer wore what appeared to be an ornate Chinese outfit. The second was the fact that she wore a Duel Disk on her left wrist! It was currently in standby mode, and unlike Anthony's, it had a green trim on the outside.

"I'm going to give you one warning. Leave the man alone, or else I'll have to get involved myself!"

The leader of the bandits tilted his head as he observed the intruder. "And who might this be?"

"She's pretty…" said the fat bandit, mesmerized by her appearance. The short bandit, however, was much more nervous.

"Boss! Look! The long black hair, the green Duel Disk!"

'So they are Duel Disks…' thought Anthony.

"She's the Beautiful Black-Haired Bandit Hunter!"

The bandit scoffed. "Her? Please! According to the rumors, the Beautiful Black-Haired Bandit Hunter has an appearance that's comparable to a goddess in terms of beauty! This girl? She's fine, but certainly no goddess."

"Are you blind, or just stupid? She's the most beautiful girl that I've ever seen!" shouted Anthony before he slapped his hands over his mouth, realizing that he just said that about a girl he had known for less than a minute, at what might be the least convenient time. His savior blushed at the compliment, while the bandit remained skeptical.

"Besides, rumor has it that the Beautiful Black-Haired Bandit Hunter has an extremely powerful card, and I highly doubt-"

"Are you referring to this?"

Anthony had to squint to get a good look at the card, and when he saw it, his eyes went wide. It was a card with a white border, which indicated that it was a Synchro Monster. It had a picture of an orange samurai on it, and five stars near the upper right corner.

"Is that…the card?" asked the fat bandit.

"Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En," said the short one.

"So, do you still wish to ignore my warning?"

The bandit leader scowled, before he put away his sword. "Come on, boys, there's no use in fighting a battle that we can't win."

The bandits ran off in frustration, and Anthony let out a sigh of relief, before walking up to his savior. "Hey, thanks a ton. You really saved my hide there."

"Anytime. Helping others is what I enjoy most, and do best." The girl then held out her hand. "My name is Kan'u. Kan'u Uncho."

Anthony accepted the handshake eagerly. "Anthony Calem."

"Hm? I've never heard a name like that before." Kan'u then proceeded to look over his clothing. "And that bandit, while I hate to admit it, did have a point. I've never seen clothing like this before. That odd hat, those dark glasses, those shoes…"

Anthony was beginning to become concerned. "So, uh, Kan'u, I'm kinda lost. Where exactly are we?"

"The Zhuo District, Yozho Province. Why?"

Anthony felt his nervousness become paranoia. District? Province? There was no way he was still in the United States with that kind of terminology.

"Um, what country are we in?"

Kan'u raised an eye at this question. "China."

Anthony let out a small laugh. "That's funny, I thought you said China."

"I did."

Anthony felt his heart stop for a second…before it began to beat much, much faster. "WHAT!"

As he put his hands to the sides of his head, Kan'u warily approached him, concerned about his reaction. "Are you okay?"

"No! No, I'm not okay! It's not every day that you see a bright flash of light, then wake up in the middle of a forest, nearly get mugged, and then some chick with a Duel Disk tells you that you're in another fucking country! What the fuck is going on here!?"

Kan'u suddenly had an idea. "Hold on, did you say that there was a bright flash of light?"

Anthony managed to stop freaking out for a second and answer the question. "Yes?"

"Then maybe…you could be the Messenger from Heaven?"

"The what?"

"A couple days ago, I was in a town when an oracle named Kanro gave his prediction. He said that on the night of a shooting star, a man would come from heaven in order to bring peace to China! And you certainly seem like you don't belong here!"

Anthony shook his hands in front of him. "No, no, you've got it all wrong! I'm no 'Messenger from Heaven!' I don't even believe in that stuff! I'm just some guy, far away from home. I'm sorry."

Kan'u looked downtrodden. "Oh. Well, sorry to intrude. I suppose I should head on to the next village, as it will be getting dark soon."

'Dark soon? But it was before ten when the mirror broke! How long was I out!' However, he didn't have the chance to dwell on this for long.

"Hold on! Look, I don't really have anywhere to stay for the night, nor do I have any money. And I don't want to stay here and risk being attacked by a wild animal, or even worse, more bandits. Do you think I can come with you?"

Kan'u didn't need to think twice. "Of course! To help others is my passion."

Anthony smiled, and the two of them began to walk towards the next village, side by side. After a few minutes of silence, Anthony decided to do a bit of prying.

"So, where did you get that Duel Disk?"

"It was a gift. My brother gave it to me."

"Oh? Your brother? What's he like?"

"He was a very brave man," she said, and Anthony noticed a certain word that felt off.

"'Was?'"

"He, and my parents, were killed in a bandit attack."

"Oh. Oh shit. I'm so sorry…"

"I-It's fine, really. I've…had time to mourn. But ever since then, I made a vow to protect the innocent, for the sake of those who can't protect themselves."

Anthony smiled at her words. "And do you do that by dueling?"

"Either that, or by fighting. I'm rather strong."

"Ah. You know, I'm not sure if Duel Monsters can make people stop attacking others."

"Actually, it can, by order of Emperor Reitei. When the cards first appeared several years ago, he made the decision to have duels settle disputes, and it has come in handy."

Anthony was surprised, as well as confused by the word "appear." He decided to change the subject, having all the information that he needed. "So, judging from your Shi En, I assume that you use Six Samurai cards, correct?"

"Correct! They're easily my favorite archetype, with so many options, and their heroic appearance, and…"

Anthony laughed at her actions. "You sure are excited, huh? Man, I could probably gush for hours on how much I love my favorite cards."

"Oh? And what cards do you use?"

"Railway monsters! Using them is an absolute blast!"

"Railway?"

"A bunch of EARTH Machine-type monsters that are based off of trains. They have an absolute ton of power, and can deal massive amounts of direct damage."

"Machine-type? Trains? What are you talking about?"

Anthony felt a small twinge of panic. 'Okay, that confirms it. I'm in the fucking past.' "You know, it's best if I show you. Gimme a sec." He reached into his satchel, then stopped when he noticed his Duel Disk.

'Hmm…'

He pulled out not just his deck, but his Duel Disk as well. He gave the deck to Kan'u to see, before he put on his Duel Disk, and thought about something.

'If this is metal now, and Kan'u has one, does that mean…these actually work!?'

Kan'u was in complete awe of the cards in his deck. "So these are Machine-types?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. And yes, all of them are trains. Basically huge metal vehicles that travel on rails, which are strips of metal that are usually laid on wooden planks called sleepers. They're designed to carry people and cargo great distances."

"Cool!"

"Heh, glad you think so, Kan'u. And if you think those cards are good, wait until you see the cards that I have in my Extra Deck! They can really tear things up!"

"Maybe we can duel tomorrow?"

"Sounds good!"

~KD~

After roughly an hour of walking, the two duelists finally made their way to the village. As they were walking through the village, they suddenly heard something.

"Make way for the Rinrin Bandits!"

Suddenly, a group of kids began to run through the street, led by a girl with short red hair and a red-trimmed Duel Disk who was riding a pig. Kan'u backed out of the way, while Anthony actually leapt into her arms, similar to a certain animated Great Dane. After the kids ran past them, Kan'u unceremoniously dropped her fellow duelist.

"Ow."

"Sorry. Who were they just now?"

"Just Rinrin and her friends."

The two duelists turned to see an older woman watching the children with an amused expression. Anthony got onto his feet and cracked his neck before replying. "Rinrin?"

"She's a local kid who lives here. She's the leader of the 'Rinrin Bandits,' which consists of her and her friends. They don't actually hurt or rob anyone, they just play pranks on the villagers."

"Well, she shouldn't do that! Bandits are no joke, and shouldn't be imitated!" said Kan'u. "What do her parents have to say about this!?"

"She doesn't have any. When she was very small, they were killed in a bandit attack, and her grandfather took her in. When he died, she started living on her own, and it was around then that she formed her little group."

Kan'u suddenly felt horrible. This kid had lost her parents, just like her! And she was fairly younger than her too.

"So you guys just let her do this, because you feel bad for her?" asked Anthony.

"Mostly, and because her pranks are harmless. The only person who outright dislikes Rinrin is the village chief."

"Why?" asked Kan'u.

"In my opinion," said the woman, "he just tries to deal with her antics, because he's simply too cowardly to try and stop real bandits. That, and because I believe that her cards frighten him."

Anthony tilted his head. "What cards does she have?"

"I can't quite recall the name. I think it was Fearfuzz?"

"Frightfur!" said Anthony, recognizing the archetype.

"Frightfur?" asked a curious Kan'u.

"Think of stuffed animals that have been possessed, and horribly mutilated. And you get Frightfurs."

Kan'u suddenly turned pale. "I can see how they could be disturbing."

"Well, I think they're pretty cool, but to each their own."

"You know," said the woman, "just about everybody in the village knows who Rinrin is. Are you two new?"

"Yeah," said Anthony. "We're looking for somewhere to stay the night. Do you know anywhere?"

"Hmm, I'm sure that I could provide a space in the cottage for the lovely young couple."

Anthony and Kan'u were caught off guard by this. "No, no, no! We aren't together!" shouted Kan'u frantically. "We just met!"

"Besides, I'm only eighteen!" said Anthony.

"So am I!" declared Kan'u.

The woman simply chuckled at their actions. "Okay, okay, honest mistake. Please, follow me."

~KD~

After the woman was kind enough to give the two duelists something to eat, she showed the two of them to their room. It was practically empty, with a single bed of straw and nothing else.

"I apologize, but I wasn't expecting guests, so this is the best that I could do."

"It's no problem," said Kan'u. "The two of us will make do."

"Okay then. Sweet dreams!" As the woman left, Anthony turned to Kan'u.

"So do you want the bed?"

"What! I-I couldn't! You're the Messenger from Heaven! You shouldn't have to sleep on the hard wooden floor!"

"I thought we went over this. I'm no Messenger from Heaven. Plus, you saved my life, or at least my belongings. You deserve the bed."

"But I insist! You take it! I'm used to sleeping on the ground!"

Anthony then had an idea, as he began to take off his jacket.

"Anthony! What are you doing!"

"Relax, I have a shirt on underneath it. We'll both share the straw, and we can use my jacket as a divider. Pretty sweet, huh?"

"I…suppose…"

Anthony grinned, as he pulled his jacket off all the way and tossed it onto the straw pile. He then placed his Duel Disk back into his satchel, which he then set on the floor. He placed his hat and sunglasses on top of it, then removed his shoes, placing them next to his bag. On the other side of the bed, Kan'u had let down her hair, and placed her shoes and Duel Disk on the ground. The two of them then got into bed, with Anthony's jacket between them.

"Well, goodnight, Kan'u."

"Actually, you may call me Aisha."

"Aisha?"

"It's my secret name, only to be said by those who I'm close to."

Anthony was confused. "Secret name?"

"Of course. Don't you have one?"

"Nope."

"What?" Kan'u then sat up and looked over to Anthony. "That can't be! You must have one!"

"If I do have a secret name, then nobody told me the secret. Look, let's just get to bed. I want to be rested when we duel tomorrow."

Kan'u smiled, and lay back down. "Goodnight, Anthony."

"Goodnight, Aisha."

However, it took a while for them to fall asleep, as they both had something on their minds.

'Unusual clothing and name, cards that I've never seen before, and no secret name? That confirms it. Despite his denial, there's no way that he can't be the Messenger from Heaven.'

'Man, from what Aisha told me, these secret names are a pretty big deal. Does she really have that much faith in me?'

Eventually, the two of them managed to doze off.

~KD~

As Anthony stirred from his sleep, he once again noticed that something was amiss. He felt something wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his torso, and there was something…soft pressed against his chest. His eyes shot open, and he came face to face with Kan'u, still fast asleep. Somehow, she had managed to cuddle with him in her sleep, her arms firmly wrapped around him, with the jacket by her feet, evidently having been moved by one of them twisting and turning. Anthony tried to break free, but she clearly hadn't been lying about being strong, as it felt like he was bound by iron chains. He needed a different approach.

"Aisha, wake up!" he hissed under his breath, with Kan'u simply stirring in her sleep and tightening her grip.

"Mmm, my comfy pillow…" she muttered, and Anthony decided that he needed to be louder, if he wanted to wake her up before she broke his spine.

"Get up, Aisha!"

Finally, she managed to slowly open her eyes…and then they shot open, and she realized what she was doing. Her face red, she retracted her arms and jumped to her feet.

"I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to-"

"It's no big deal, Aisha. I didn't really mind being your 'comfy pillow.'"

"Noooooo…"

While Kan'u was dying from embarrassment, Anthony managed to put on his jacket, as he went to get the rest of his things.

"Come on, let's get ready so we can find somewhere that we can duel," he said as he put on his Duel Disk.

"What about here?" asked Kan'u, which made Anthony tilt his head.

"Aisha, you want to duel with the Duel Disks, right?"

"Yes…"

"Well, there's a problem with doing that indoors. My monsters are the length of this village."

"Oh. I can see how that would be a problem," said Kan'u, putting her hair back into a ponytail. As the two of them made their way out of the cottage, once again thanking the old woman for her hospitality, they soon noticed a fair amount of commotion, and decided to go to the source.

The problem, it seemed, involved the palace of the chief magistrate being vandalized. Somebody had drawn a bad caricature of the chief magistrate, a man with a somewhat wrinkled complexion, and stupidly revealed their identity by scrawling, "Rinrin Bandits," on it.

"This is an outrage!" cried the chief magistrate, while a mustached man, presumably his adviser, approached him. "Those brats have gone too far now!"

"Shall I fetch the troops to capture them?" asked the adviser.

"Of course! It's time that those hoodlums learned some manners!"

"Sending armed guards? After a few children?" said a man aloud.

"How cruel…" said a woman in response. Kan'u couldn't agree more, and made a decision.

"We can get her!"

The chief magistrate then turned to see Kan'u, with her left hand in the air.

"And you are?"

"Kan'u Uncho! And this is Anthony Calem! The two of us are wandering duelists, and I can guarantee that we have the skill to retrieve Rinrin and make her apologize for making this graffiti!"

The adviser soon turned to the magistrate. "Kan'u Uncho? That's the name of the Beautiful Black-Haired Bandit Hunter!"

The chief magistrate simply tilted his head. "Really? But her beauty is said to be that of a goddess. Apparently, that rumor is false, and if one is untrue, then the others may be false as well." This managed to piss Anthony right off.

"Okay, first off, she is the Beautiful Black-Haired Bandit Hunter. Secondly, she's totally as hot as the rumors make her out to be. And finally, while I haven't seen her skills myself, I have complete confidence in her skills."

The chief magistrate sighed. "Fine. I want the two of you to bring her to me and have her apologize by sundown. Fail, and I'll send my soldiers to collect her. But if you succeed, I'll reward you with a generous payment. How does one thousand copper sound?"

"One thousand copper!?" shouted Anthony, before he turned to Kan'u and whispered, "Is that a lot?" She nodded in response.

"Well? Do we have a deal?"

Kan'u smiled. "Just leave it to us!"

~KD~

Shortly after, the two duelists were making their way through the forest, en route to the hideout of the Rinrin Bandits located in the mountains. As Kan'u was reading the map that the chief magistrate had provided them, Anthony tried making small talk.

"So, which of us should duel her first?"

Kan'u looked at Anthony, and said, "I suppose that I should duel first, and if it happens that I lose, you will challenge her."

"Okay then. Just be careful. Frightfur cards are rather dangerous in the right hands."

Their conversation was soon interrupted as a small stone bounced by Anthony's feet. The two of them looked down, and Anthony bent over to pick it up.

"How did that get here?"

He was soon hit on the shoulder by another rock, and he jerked his head upwards to see a young boy on a tree branch, holding a small pile of rocks.

"Nobody can get to Rinrin without getting past me!"

He then began to lob the small stones at a much higher rate, and Anthony and Kan'u were forced to hide behind a large rock to take shelter.

"Hey, stop that!" cried Kan'u. "You could really hurt somebody by doing that!" But as she peered from behind the rock to lecture the young boy, a pebble struck her square in the forehead, and she was knocked back.

"Aisha! Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine, which is more than I can say for that little thug!"

She then raced over to the tree, bobbing and weaving through a hailstorm of pebbles, before she reached the trunk of the tree the boy was perched on. She gave it a powerful kick, and the shockwave made the boy lose balance, and he fell head over heels off of the branch.

"Wah! I'm falling!"

But he wasn't for long, as Kan'u caught him before he hit the ground. He seemed relieved at first, but once he saw the look of anger on her face, he immediately began to whimper in fear.

"Who do you think you are, throwing rocks at people?"

"I'm…I'm sorry!"

"Oh, you will be!" She then proceeded to put the boy on her knee and spank him, hard. The boy hollered in pain, and Anthony couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid, even if he did kind of deserve it.

"Good! Boys! Don't! Throw! Rocks!" Kan'u shouted with each subsequent strike, and when she was done, the boy held his bottom and ran off crying.

"Don't you think that was a little harsh, Aisha?"

"No. One of us, or anybody else walking down this path, could have been seriously injured. I had to teach that boy a lesson."

"If you say so."

As the two continued down the path, they soon came across four more children, the rest of the Rinrin bandits. On the ground in front of them was a hastily placed bed of leaves, obviously masking a pitfall.

"Try and pass us, if you dare!" said one of the kids, as Kan'u crossed her arms.

"Please. As if I would fall for such an obvious trap!" She then jumped right over the pitfall in an excellent display of strength and agility...before she landed right into another pitfall, which was disguised with dirt over a mat.

"AISHA!"

As Anthony heard his new friend groan at the bottom of the trap, he then began to walk around the pitfalls, while the kids began to cheer, unaware of the other duelist.

"We got them! We got them! We got them!"

"Correction," said Anthony, stepping out of the foliage, holding a fallen branch that he had found. "You got one of us. And now the other one's pissed."

The kids began to shrink back, the makeshift weapon and Anthony's impressive height intimidating them.

"Boo."

And with that, the kids took off screaming, as Anthony discarded the branch, and Kan'u crawled out from the trap.

"Thanks for dealing with them, Anthony."

"Hey, don't forget, we still have one more challenge ahead of us," Anthony reminded her, as they made their way to the mountains where the leader of the Rinrin Bandits herself resided.

"Hold it right there! Who dares challenge the Rinrin Bandits!"

Sure enough, the redhead arrived, activating her Duel Disk, with both plates coming together.

"Kan'u Uncho and Anthony Calem!" declared Kan'u, activating her own Duel Disk. "And the two of us are here to stop you, Rinrin!"

"Hmph! Only those who are close to Rinrin may call her that! To you, Rinrin is Chohi Yokutoku!"

"Very well, Chohi. The two of us challenge you to two duels. If one of us manages to beat you, then you are to come with us and apologize to the chief magistrate for all of the trouble that you've caused."

"No problem! Rinrin won't lose! Who's up first?"

"The floor is yours, Aisha," said Anthony, as he went over to a sizable tree stump near the base of the mountains, which is where they were, and sat down, ready to see the show.

"LET'S DUEL!"

(Kan'u: 4000 LP)(Chohi: 4000 LP)

"I'll go first!" declared Kan'u, drawing six cards from the top of her deck. "And first, I'll play The Six Samurai - Yariza!"

A portal suddenly appeared, and out of it came a samurai in blue futuristic samurai armor. In its right hand was a long spear, which was connected to the samurai's left hip by a long cable, the tip of the spear glowing cyan with energy (LV 3: ATK 1000).

'Holy crap!' thought Anthony. 'The Duel Disks really do work! This is gonna be so freaking awesome!'

"And now, I equip Yariza with my Legendary Ebon Steed!"

Soon, a black war horse wearing armor appeared, letting out a fierce whinny. The Warrior-type leapt onto the back of the horse and took hold of the reigns, ready to charge into battle utop its mighty steed (ATK 1000-1200).

"And to wrap up my turn, I set two cards." As the two vertical face-downs appeared, Chohi smiled as it was her turn to go.

"Rinrin draws her next card! And now, I send my Fluffal Bear from my hand to the Graveyard to set Toy Vendor from my deck!"

She then discarded one card, as another one popped out of her deck, which she immediately set, before she placed another card in her Monster Zone.

"Now come on out, Fluffal Leo!"

A bright yellow stuffed lion with small angel wings appeared, looking rather adorable (LV 4: ATK 1600).

"Sorry, Chohi, but that monster isn't going to be out for long! I activate my face-down card, Six Style - Dual Wield!"

Her card soon flipped up, revealing the monster known as The Six Samurai - Nisashi swinging both of his laser swords, as her own Six Samurai lifted his spear into the air, as the tip began to glow even brighter than before.

"This card may only be played if the only monster that I control is one Six Samurai monster in attack mode. Now I may select two cards that you control, and return them to the hand! And seeing as you only control two cards, I'll send both of them back!"

Her monster then swung its weapon twice, and both cards went back to Chohi's hand, but the young teen was unperturbed as she simply played one of her cards that was sent back.

"Rinrin plays her Toy Vendor!"

On her field appeared a rather strange type of toy vending machine. It had arms, eyes, and even a top hat on top of the plastic dome containing all of the toy capsules, with a tonguelike slide connected to the tube where the capsule came out.

"Now I discard a card to draw a card and show you it, and if it's a Fluffal monster, Rinrin can Special Summon a monster from her hand! And now, I discard Fusion Reserve!"

Soon, the vending machine spat out a small capsule, which suddenly popped open, revealing an image of Fluffal Bear.

"Yay! Fluffal Bear! Now Rinrin can Special Summon her Fluffal Leo!"

The Fairy-type soon returned to the field, letting out a soft growl, which sounded more like a meow (LV 4: ATK 1600).

"Now Fluffal Leo attacks! And when it does, it gains five hundred attack points!"

Her monster soon began to float towards the opposing monster, power increasing as it did (ATK 1600-2100). However, when it tackled the samurai on horseback, Yariza simply hopped off of its steed, which was destroyed (ATK 1200-1000)(Kan'u: 4000-3100 LP)(ATK 2100-1600).

"By sacrificing my Legendary Ebon Steed, I'm able to keep my Yariza on the field," explained Kan'u, as she then pushed a button on her Duel Disk, revealing her other face-down to be a Continuous Trap, with an image of the armor worn by The Six Samurai - Yariza. "And now I activate my Swiftstrike Armor, which lets me Special Summon any Six Samurai monster that I draw during my Draw Phase!"

'Man, Aisha is incredible with her cards, although Chohi is certainly no slouch either,' thought Anthony.

"Well, Rinrin ends her turn," said Chohi, as Kan'u drew, then revealed her card.

"I use the effect of Swiftstrike Armor to Special Summon The Six Samurai - Zanji!"

The new monster was another samurai clad in futuristic armor, although this time, it was orange in color. He also wielded a different weapon, a naginata with a glowing orange blade (LV 4: ATK 1800).

"And now I summon The Six Samurai - Kamon!"

A third samurai appeared, clad in red futuristic armor, with the armor being covered in sticks of dynamite (LV 3: ATK 1500).

"Now I use my Kamon's effect! By sacrificing its attack this turn, I can select and destroy one face-up Spell or Trap Card that you control! And I pick your Toy Vendor!"

Anthony's eyes widened. "Aisha, don't!" But it was too late. Kamon plucked one of the sticks of dynamite from its armor, lit the fuse, and rolled it across the field, with the explosive coming to rest right under the vending machine, before it detonated, blowing the Continuous Spell to smithereens, although not without a parting gift, as a single capsule rolled along the floor, before it popped open, revealing Edge Imp Sabres, before the monster disappeared.

"What the hell was that!?" asked Kan'u, a little freaked out by the Fiend's sudden appearance and disappearance.

"When Toy Vendor is destroyed, Rinrin can add either Edge Imp Sabres or one of her Fluffal monsters from her deck to her hand!" explained Chohi with glee.

"No matter. Zanji, destroy her monster with your Brilliant Slash!"

Her monster then began to spin its blade, the weapon glowing even brighter, before it cut diagonally through Fluffal Leo, causing the Fairy-type to shatter into pixels (Chohi: 4000-3800 LP).

"And now, Yariza will attack directly with his Land Sting!"

Her other samurai sprinted towards the leader of the Rinrin bandits, dragging its spear along the ground, before it struck Chohi with an upward slash (Chohi: 3800-2800 LP).

"And now, I end my turn!"

"Then it's Rinrin's turn! And I play my Polymerization, in order to Fusion Summon!"

A card appeared, showing two monsters being pulled into a blue vortex, as two monsters appeared on her field. First was Fluffal Bear, a pink teddy bear with a red scarf and angelic wings (LV 3: ATK 1200). The second monster looked like six pairs of scissors bunched together, with the blades being made of green energy. Behind the holes of the handles was an area of darkness, and two red eyes (LV 3: ATK 1200). The two monsters then went into a blue vortex, with a sinister silhouette being visible.

"Rinrin fuses her Edge Imp Sabres and Fluffal Bear to Fusion Summon Frightfur Bear!"

"Here it comes…" said Anthony. Kan'u became nervous, and soon, it appeared. The monster, for the most part, looked like a teddy bear, albeit one from a horrific nightmare. It had a head that looked like a teddy bear's head with scars on it and a wide open jaw barely held together by stitching, and sharp teeth, with two glowing red eyes in its maw, evidently the monster's true face. Its paws had been cut off, and attached to the handles of two pairs of scissors stabbed into the back of the monster's neck. And finally, the monster looked like it was bisected through the stomach, and between the gap was a massive pair of scissors (LV 6: ATK 2200). As soon as it appeared, Kan'u couldn't help but let out a scream of terror.

"OH MY GOD! Wha-Wha-Wha-What is that!? That's what the Frightfurs look like!? It looks like it just crawled from the pits of hell, ready to drag me down with it!"

"Awesome…" said Anthony, admiring Frightfur Bear, before he called out to Kan'u. "Careful, Aisha! That monster can equip any monster that it destroys in battle to itself, then gain a thousand attack points!"

"Duly noted."

"Rinrin's monster is the best! And now, to make it better, I play my Fusion Weapon, to boost its power by 1500!"

"Oh crap!" shouted Anthony.

"This can't be good," said Kan'u.

The new card had a picture of Dark Flare Knight being equipped with some sort of weapon, as the same weapon appeared on the right paw of Frightfur Bear. It was a three-pronged red claw fused to its wrist, with electricity flowing through it (ATK 2200-3700 ATK).

"Now attack Yariza! Pummeling Paw!"

Her monster then shot forward its right paw, with its arm becoming much longer in response. It then began to aim for Yariza, before to the surprise of both Chohi and Anthony, when the attack hit, it was Zanji that was destroyed (Kan'u: 3100-400 LP).

"When The Six Samurai - Yariza would be destroyed by battle, I can destroy another Six Samurai monster in its place! And since Zanji was destroyed by a card effect, it isn't equipped to your monster!"

"Well, Rinrin sets one monster to end her turn."

Kan'u took a deep breath, then drew her top card, and smiled. 'Perfect.' "First off, I use the effect of my Kamon in order to destroy your Fusion Weapon!"

Her monster then removed another stick of dynamite from its armor, and threw it at the Fusion Monster, with the stick exploding right in front of it, destroying the Equip Spell (ATK 3700-2200).

"Now I play my Shien's Smoke Signal, and with it, I can add a level three or lower Six Samurai monster from my deck to my hand!"

As a card appeared, showing a samurai in green armor on top of a watchtower, sending a purple smoke signal, Kan'u pulled out her deck and began to look through her cards, before finally finding the one that she needed, adding it to her hand before she put back her deck, her Duel Disk automatically shuffling her cards.

"And now, I summon Kagemusha of the Six Samurai!"

Her next monster was yet another samurai who was on one knee, wearing green leather under brown armor with chartreuse markings. His long red hair flowed from the back of his helmet, and in his left hand was a spear with a glowing tip, and a cable leading to his hip (LV 2: ATK 400: Tuner).

"And now, I tune my level three The Six Samurai - Kamon with my level two Kagemusha of the Six Samurai!"

Her Kagemusha stood up and began to spin his spear, creating a ring of energy as the markings on his armor began to glow. He then became two green stars, which transformed into two large green rings. Kamon then jumped into the air and came to a stop between the rings, becoming an orange outline of itself as three more green stars appeared, before a green beam of light filled up the space between the rings, swallowing the stars (3+2=5).

"Watch as two monsters become one, bending the fine line between fantasy and reality, and ascending humanity in order to become a legend! I Synchro Summon Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En!"

As soon as the green pillar vanished, a powerful samurai appeared on the field. He was wearing purple clothes, underneath orange and golden samurai armor, with two winglike purple and gold plates sticking out from the back, spiked shoulders, and an imperial symbol on the helmet. In the Synchro Monster's right hand was a long curved sword with little triangular notches on it, similar to the teeth on a scroll saw (LV 5: ATK 2500).

"Amazing…" said Anthony, completely blown away by Kan'u's signature monster, and the Synchro Summoning itself.

"I'm in trouble…" said Chohi, seeing how the new monster had more attack points than her Frightfur Bear.

"Shi En, strike down that Frightfur Bear with your Serrated Night Slash!"

Her monster let out a brief war cry, before it began to run towards the Fusion Monster, which raised its paws in an attempt to look intimidating. The Synchro Monster was undaunted, and sliced right through the torso of the Fiend-type, which exploded into pixels upon its destruction (Chohi: 2800-2500 LP).

"And since I control a Six Samurai monster with a different name, I can have my Yariza declare a direct attack!"

Her monster then bent down, before leaping right over the face-down monster, and landing right in front of Chohi. It then stabbed her with its spear, before it back flipped back to Kan'u (Chohi: 2500-1500 LP).

"And that will end my turn!"

"Alright Aisha! You've got her on the ropes now!"

Chohi begged to differ, and as soon as she drew her next card, she put it in her hand, before taking the other card and activating it, showing a picture of Frightfur Bear crawling out of a toy box.

"Rinrin plays Frightfur Reborn, to bring back a Frightfur monster from the Graveyard!"

But the card soon had the same imperial symbol that was on Shi En's helmet appear over it, before it shattered into pixels. Chohi could only gape, mouth occasionally opening and closing like a fish.

"...what…"

"That was the effect of my Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En. Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can negate the activation of a Spell or Trap Card and destroy it!"

Chohi began to panic. This meant that her newly drawn Fluffal Crane was useless now! However, there was one more thing that she could do.

"Rinrin sends one card in her hand to the top of her deck, to Special Summon Edge Imp Sabres from her Graveyard in defense mode!"

The possessed pairs of scissors appeared on her side of the field (LV 3: DEF 800), and ended her turn.

"I draw! And I use the effect of my Swiftstrike Armor to Special Summon The Six Samurai - Irou!"

Her new monster was a samurai wearing futuristic purple armor on the left side of his body, over a tattered green tunic, and he wore a purple hakama around his legs. He had long black hair, a goatee, and a purple visor over his head, rather than a helmet. In his right hand, he held a long purple curved sword, which he rested on his shoulder (LV 4: ATK 1700).

"And his special ability lets him immediately destroy a face-down monster in defense mode that he attacks, without flipping it up or applying damage calculation! Irou, destroy that face-down monster with Humming Shadow!"

Her monster held his sword in both hands, a murky purple aura coating the blade as it began to hum, vibrating at incredible speeds. He then ran to the face-down monster that Chohi controlled, and slashed through it, seemingly having zero effect. However, as soon as Irou placed his sword back on his shoulder, the card was cleaved in half, before it was shattered into pixels, and Chohi frowned as she sent her Fluffal Cat to the Graveyard.

"Now my Yariza will attack and destroy your Edge Imp Sabres!"

The samurai in blue ran towards the Fiend-type, blade slicing the ground, before the EARTH monster pierced Sabres with his spear and destroyed it.

"And now, for the finishing blow! Shi En, attack directly!"

Her DARK monster swung his blade through Chohi, who fell to her knees in defeat (Chohi: 1500-0 LP)(Winner: Kan'u).

"That was amazing, Aisha! You beat her!" cheered Anthony as he ran up to his friend, giving her a high five in congratulations. She smiled, and the two of them turned to Chohi, who was staring rather intently at the ground with a blank expression.

"Chohi, you've been defeated," said Kan'u. "It's time for you to hold up your end of the bargain. Now come and-"

"WAAAAAAAHHH!"

To their surprise, the girl began to bawl, tears streaming down her face like waterfalls. "I-I don't wanna! He's mean! I'm never gonna apologize to him!"

Kan'u became stern, and marched up to Chohi. "Oh yes you are! Do you honestly think that playing pranks on the villagers is a good thing to do? You need to take consequences for your actions!"

Chohi began to wipe her eyes dry, to little effect. "Rinrin…Rinrin doesn't know. I'm lonely. I miss my mommy, my daddy, my grandpa…I don't know what to do!" She then began to cry even harder, and Kan'u began to soften up. "All I have are my friends, and that mean old chief won't let me play with them anymore if I go to him! I don't wanna be alone! I hate being alone!"

"You can come with us."

Anthony then looked at Kan'u, wondering where she was going with this. "After you apologize to the chief magistrate, why don't you travel with us?"

Chohi looked up, and Kan'u knelt down to meet her eyes. "You know, I lost my family to bandits when I was young too. But do you want to know what I did afterwards? I made a pledge to help anybody who needs it, and to defeat anybody who wishes to cause harm. I don't want anybody to suffer the same fate as me. And right now, I can see that you need somebody to talk to."

Chohi then turned to Anthony. "And you too?"

"No, my parents are still alive. But I can still empathize with you, and I want to help."

Chohi then smiled. "Okay then! I'll go with you! And you'll be Rinrin's big sis and big bro!"

Anthony raised an eyebrow at the odd request. "Erm, okay? Whatever you want, Chohi."

"Call Rinrin Rinrin, big bro!"

"Okay, Rinrin."

Kan'u smiled. "Come on, Rinrin. Let's get back to the village, and once you apologize, we'll be on our way."

"I'm coming, big sis!"

~KD~

After Chohi declared the older duelists to be her sworn siblings, the three of them made their way back to the village, so that Chohi could apologize, and the other two could collect their pay. When they arrived, they saw the chief magistrate and his adviser waiting at the village entrance.

"Ah, I see you've managed to wrangle the little troublemaker."

"Yes, and she has something to say."

Kan'u then pushed a nervous-looking Chohi forward, who then bowed her head in shame.

"Rinrin is sorry for drawing on your palace, sir. It won't happen again."

This made the chief magistrate smile. "Ah, good, very good." He then turned to his adviser with a wicked smile. "Please fetch these two their payment, and fetch some guards to take this hoodlum away."

"WHAT!?"

The question made the adviser stop in his tracks, as the chief magistrate raised an eyebrow at the eighteen-year-olds. "Is something wrong?"

"You bet it is!" cried Kan'u. "The deal that we had was that you wouldn't send out armed guards if we got Rinrin to apologize by sunset! The day is still early! She said that she was sorry, quite sincerely! So what are you doing?"

"I've had some time to think," said the chief magistrate with a sly grin. "And what's to stop her from pulling such a scheme again? Honestly, locking her up is for the best."

"But Rinrin was gonna go with these guys! Rinrin wouldn't be here anymore!"

"But what about your friends? Or any other kids who happen to imitate your actions! I have to set an example!"

"That's a fair point," admitted Kan'u, "but this isn't the way to go about it! Arresting a child isn't going to help anyone!"

"Hey, Rinrin isn't a kid! I'm thirteen!"

"You're wasting my time, now let me do my job," said the chief magistrate, as he and his adviser began to head into town, until…

"Hey fuckface!"

The adviser turned around with an incredulous expression, while the chief magistrate was absolutely livid. Anthony, who had remained quiet for the most part, was now seething with rage, fists clenched and teeth gritted tightly.

"What. Did you. Just call me!?" demanded the chief magistrate.

"I think you heard me. And I also think that what you're doing is cruel, and immoral, and wrong. Going back on your deal, arresting a child as a response for a petty prank; does any of that shit sound like something that a responsible leader should do, you prick!?"

Kan'u and Chohi could only stare at the young man, unaware that he had a mean bone in his body. And yet here he was, going on a tirade against somebody who Anthony thought overstepped his boundaries.

"You know, I could easily refuse your payment. Or I could punish you for your actions."

Anthony then held up his left arm, as well as his Duel Disk, unfazed by the threats. "I'm assuming that as the chief magistrate of this village, you've got access to some sweet cards, correct?"

"Correct," said the adviser.

"Then I challenge you to a duel. The winner decides what to do with Rinrin, that is, if it's okay with her."

"Rinrin accepts!" said Chohi, before Kan'u could protest.

"And why should I accept this challenge, pray tell?"

"Because as Aisha said, Rinrin is coming with us. So if I win, she leaves along with us, and if you win, she's placed under arrest. It's a win-win, where either way, I get a kickass duel, and Rinrin is out of your hair."

The magistrate smiled. "You certainly drive a hard bargain. I accept. Come now," he said to his adviser, "let us fetch my cards. And as for you, boy, our duel will take place in half an hour, in the center of town." The two then left, and Kan'u grabbed Anthony by the collar.

"Have you lost your mind!? Now if you lose, Rinrin will be placed under arrest! Do you ever consider the consequences of failure!?"

"That's only if I fail," said Anthony. "And with so much at stake, I have no intention of doing so. Besides, I wasn't exactly thinking straight, since I was so pissed at that guy."

"Rinrin believes in you, big bro!"

Anthony smiled as Kan'u let go of his jacket. "Thanks, Rinrin. Now let's go. I was ready to duel when I gave that challenge."

~KD~

In the center of town, both duelists activated their Duel Disks, neither of them having any colored trim to help them stand out like Kan'u and Chohi. A crowd had formed around them, including the other two duelists.

"So what cards does big bro use, big sis?"

"He uses unique cards known as Machine-type, based around something known as 'trains.' As for his play style, I'm not quite sure."

"Well, maybe they're really cool!"

"Alright, boy, so you know the rules, correct?"

"Yep. And unlike you, I won't go back on our deal later."

The chief magistrate frowned as Anthony gave him a cheeky grin, as both players drew their starting hands. 'I will enjoy this far more than I should.'

(Chief Magistrate: 4000 LP)(Anthony: 4000 LP)

"As the ruler of this village, I shall go first! And I summon my Alexandrite Dragon!"

A massive Western dragon appeared on the field, its body coated in black alexandrite. It let out a powerful roar as it spread out its wings (LV 4: ATK 2000).

"And now, I set one monster to end my turn!"

Anthony grinned as he drew his next card.

"Attention, everyone! Please keep your distance from the platform, as Rocket Arrow Express will be pulling through!"

He then slapped his card onto his Duel Disk, and an absolutely massive portal appeared, and out came his monster. It was a blue express train, with a yellow front, and a large white spaceship on top of it. It proceeded to move above the crowd, who gasped at its massive size and unusual appearance, as railroad tracks appeared under it, appearing and disappearing as it thundered across the line (LV 10: ATK 5000).

"Five thousand attack points!? On his first turn!?" cried Kan'u, in complete disbelief of the new monster.

"It's so big!" exclaimed Chohi, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Impossible! There is no way that you could bring out such a powerful monster like that!" said the chief magistrate in protest.

"Well, I can, actually. You see, if I have no cards on the field, I can Special Summon my Rocket Arrow Express from my hand. However, I can't declare my Battle Phase the turn that I do this, and I can't activate cards or effects, or set any cards. And I need to discard my entire hand during my Standby Phase to keep it active. But don't worry, because thundering down the tracks, here comes Night Express Knight!"

Another massive express train began to circle the field, this one being white and gold in color. On top of the engine's cab, however, was a massive knight in white armor, seemingly fused to the train by his waist. In his hands were a massive lance and shield (LV 10: ATK 0).

"Normally this monster has three thousand attack points," explained Anthony, "but I can Normal Summon it with zero attack points, and not have to tribute! And now, as you can see, I have two level ten monsters on the field!"

"Which means what?" Chohi asked Kan'u.

"I have a suspicious feeling…that he's about to Xyz Summon."

"Xyz Summon?"

"You'll see," said Kan'u, as Anthony stacked both of his monsters on top of each other.

"I use my level ten Rocket Arrow Express and Night Express Knight to build the Overlay Network, and Xyz Summon!"

Soon, a massive red portal appeared on the field in front of Anthony, and both of his monsters transformed into orange balls of light, before they flew into the portal, as an explosion of light came out. With a huge grin that threatened to split his face in half, Anthony reached into a pocket on his satchel, and pulled out a black card, with ten stars not on the right, like his other monsters, but on the left. He then placed the card on top of his stacked monsters.

"Make way for the monster train that's gonna derail your chances of winning! Chug on in, Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max!"

Out of the portal came two blue trains, both having tracks appear beneath them as they came to a stop right behind Anthony. On top of them was a large red and gray platform, holding a dark green box, made of many squares similar to the pattern of a hand grenade, with a large red eye in the center. The box then opened up, and a massive aquamarine cannon barrel with an orange and green tip extended, reaching about the length of the two engines that carried it, and then some. Finally, there were two small orange balls of light orbiting the rail cannon like satellites (RANK 10: ATK 3000: OLU 2).

"Oh my god," said Kan'u, dumbstruck by the appearance of the mighty Xyz Monster, while Chohi was bouncing up and down in excitement.

"That looks so cool! What does it do, what does it do!"

"You'll find out in a second, Rinrin! As you can see, rather than going to the Graveyard, the Xyz Material that I used to build the Overlay Network have now become Overlay Units, which I can remove and send to the Graveyard in order to activate my monster's effects. Oh, and being an Xyz Monster, it doesn't have a level, but a rank. Is that it, or is its appearance so mind-numbingly awesome that I need to explain it again?"

The chief magistrate didn't respond to his question, asking one of his own. "Where did you get that card!?"

'The internet,' Anthony wanted to say, but seeing as the internet wasn't around now, he simply smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know! And now that I've blown your mind, it's time to blow your life points to bits, and everything else within a hundred foot radius! I activate the effect of Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max!"

"No you don't!" countered the chief magistrate, as he activated a Trap Card with an image of a gargoyle surrounded by green chains, as the same chains bound Anthony's Xyz Monster, locking it in place. "I activate my Fiendish Chain, which negates the effect of your monster as long as this card remains on the field, as well as preventing it from attacking!"

"Crap! Well, I set two cards and end my turn."

The village chief drew his card, and smiled wickedly. "I activate my Raigeki, destroying all monsters on your side of the field!"

"What!?"

A card with an image of an enormous yellow lightning bolt appeared, as a similar-looking thunderbolt blasted Gustav Max to pieces, as Fiendish Chain also exploded, no longer having any purpose.

"Now I summon my Luster Dragon!"

Another dragon appeared, this one covered in sapphires instead (LV 4: ATK 1900).

"Now my monsters will attack directly with Sapphire Spark and Alexandrite Assault!"

His dragons shot blue and black streams of fire, with Anthony crossing his arms to block the blasts (Anthony: 4000-100 LP).

"This is really bad," said Kan'u. "It's only the third turn, and Anthony only has one hundred life points left! He can't afford to lose any more!"

"I think that's enough punishment for now, so I'll just set one card and end my turn."

"Okay then, my turn! I draw! And I end my turn by setting one card!"

Kan'u and Chohi were worried. This could very well be the end.

"Ha! Is that it!? I draw! And I play my Ancient Rules, in order to Special Summon a level five or higher Normal Monster from my hand! And I happen to pick my Hyozanryu!"

The new card had what looked like a dragon coming off of a tattered piece of parchment, as another Dragon-type monster emerged from the Spell Card. The new dragon was mostly white, with the exception of the gemlike yellow claws, the three yellow horns, with two on the back of its head, and one on its nose, and finally, its orange underbelly. Some of its scales had patterns similar to that of a diamond (LV 7: ATK 2100).

"Now end this duel with Diamond Devastator!"

His monster let out a roar as it shot a brilliant white blast of energy from its mouth, but Anthony simply smiled.

"Thanks for attacking directly! Now I can Special Summon another monster from my hand! Time to clear my back row, Snow Plow Hustle Rustle!"

All three of Anthony's set cards lined up in a row and flipped up, revealing them to be Resonance Device, Wonder Xyz, and Reinforced Space. Then another train appeared, a large red one with a yellow snow plow on either side (LV 10: ATK 2500). It then plowed through all three cards, destroying them and shoveling the shards over to the chief magistrate, who was promptly buried in shards of light, before they dissolved (Chief Magistrate: 4000-3400 LP).

"By declaring a direct attack, while there was a card in my Spell & Trap Zone," explained Anthony, "you let me Special Summon Hustle Rustle, then destroy all of my Spells and Traps, dealing two hundred points of damage for each one. Not too bad, huh?"

"Hyozanryu, stop your attack! Well, now I end my turn!"

As the diamond covered dragon ceased its attack, Anthony drew, then activated his newly drawn card, which had a picture of a railway tunnel, and on the tracks was Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon, with a purple magical circle in front of it.

"I play my Special Schedule, which lets me Special Summon a Machine-type monster with three thousand or more attack points from my Graveyard in defense mode! And I pick my Night Express Knight!"

His white train with the knight came back through the same circle on the card, shield raised before it (LV 10: DEF 3000).

"And now, I overlay my level ten Snow Plow Hustle Rustle with my Night Express Knight to Xyz Summon Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max!"

As his opponent's jaw dropped, both monsters became orange balls of light, before they went into the red portal, and out came the massive rail cannon, two orange satellites circling it (RANK 10: ATK 3000: OLU 2).

"You have two of those behemoths!?" asked the village leader in disbelief.

"Actually, three of them! After all, you are allowed three copies of a card to a deck or Extra Deck, right? And now I activate its effect!" Anthony shouted, removing Snow Plow Hustle Rustle and sending it to his Graveyard. "By using up one Overlay Unit, my monster can inflict two thousand points of damage!"

Kan'u and Chohi couldn't believe what they just heard.

"Did big bro just say…"

"Two thousand!?"

"Go! Cataclysmic Cannon Kablooie!"

One of the two satellites then went into the eye of the Machine-type (OLU 2-1). It then lowered its cannon barrel, until the chief magistrate was looking down the barrel of the gun. The monster then unleashed a gigantic laser blast, completely enveloping the chief (Chief Magistrate: 3400-1400 LP).

"And now, Gustav Max will attack! Destroy that Luster Dragon of his with Gustav Hammer!"

The monster then retracted its huge weapon and closed back up, before the box was hoisted into the air by a mechanical arm, turning it into a massive sledgehammer. The trains then chugged forward, until the Xyz Monster was right in front of the dragon in sapphire. The massive hammer swung down, but the chief magistrate couldn't simply let his monster be destroyed without a fight. He activated a Trap Card, showing Freed the Brave Wanderer blocking an attack from Giga Gagagigo with his shield, as a green force field absorbed the attack (Chief Magistrate: 1400-4400 LP).

"Nice try, but I use my Draining Shield, negating your attack, and giving me life points equal to the attack points of your monster!"

Anthony frowned as his monster returned to its original position and brought its gun out again. He then placed another card onto his Duel Disk.

"I summon Lionhearted Locomotive!"

Another train joined the party, this one being a green tank engine pulling a load of white freight cars (LV 4: ATK 2400).

"And now, I end my turn."

"Why didn't you summon that monster to attack!?" asked Kan'u from the sidelines.

"Well," explained Anthony, "whenever Lionhearted Locomotive declares an attack, its attack points become half of its original attack points until the end of the Damage Step."

His opponent began to break into a fit of laughter. "What!? Why would you put such a horrible card in your deck!?"

Anthony frowned at this statement as his opponent drew. "None of my cards are horrible, asshole! My Railway cards and I have been through a lot together!"

"Yeah, a lot of losing, most likely. As for me, only the very best cards are in my deck! Like this one! I activate The Dark Door, which allows only one monster to attack during each Battle Phase!"

A Continuous Spell appeared, with a green portal that a monster was walking through, and various other monsters waiting their turns.

"And now, I tribute my Luster Dragon in order to Tribute Summon my Luster Dragon #2!"

His sapphire dragon disappeared, and was replaced by a larger green dragon, with emeralds growing out of its legs (LV 6: ATK 2400).

"And that ends my turn, boy!"

But to the disbelief of the chief magistrate, Anthony was yawning.

"Hmm? Are you tired? Considering you're so far behind, you should probably be more alert!"

"No, I'm just bored. It's just, your entire deck is so boring."

"Excuse you!?"

"Look, I'm not saying that it's a bad deck, but it's nothing but high-power Normal Monsters and very practical and basic Spell Cards and Trap Cards. It's so…jejune."

"And I suppose that your impractical and flashy cards are so much better!?"

Anthony just smiled and took his sunglasses off of his hat, and put them over his eyes. "Yeah, because using them is such a blast! I don't care whether or not my cards are top-tier, or the best out there! I use my Railway cards because they're fun! Just like how Aisha uses her Six Samurai cards, and Rinrin uses her Frightfurs!"

Kan'u blushes at the mention of her cards, and Chohi simply smiled.

"And in the end, isn't that the point of any game? To have fun? And now, it's time to face the future!"

Anthony drew his next card, and smiled before he placed it onto his Duel Disk.

"I summon my Ruffian Railcar!"

A red railcar with orange spikes on its side plates and a yellow cowcatcher appeared, with two yellow marks that looked like eyes, and a black grill with white parts that resembled a fanged mouth (LV 4: ATK 1800).

"And now I activate the effect of my Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max! Cataclysmic Cannon Kablooie!"

The other Overlay Unit was absorbed by the Xyz Monster (OLU 1-0). The gun barrel pointed at the chief magistrate and fired, bringing the man closer to defeat (Chief Magistrate: 4400-2400 LP).

"And now, I use my level four Lionhearted Locomotive and Ruffian Railcar to build the Overlay Network!"

Both of his Machine-types became orange balls of light, and swirled into a red portal, with a multicolored explosion resulting from it.

"Here comes the wild train that will run over any monsters that stand in its path! Roll right along, Heavy Armored Train Ironwolf!"

His new monster was a rather odd looking train. It was mostly purple in color, with the exception of the flame patterns on its wheel covers, silver metal near the front of said wheel covers that resembled claws, and a large golden wolf head on the front. The train chugged next to Gustav Max, two orange satellites orbiting it, before it let out a noise that sounded like a combination between a howl and a train whistle (RANK 4: ATK 2200: OLU 2).

"Another Xyz Monster?" thought Kan'u aloud. "What can this one do?"

"Probably something awesome!" chimed in Chohi.

"Here's the deal. By using one Overlay Unit, I can select one Machine-type monster that I control, and by making it the only monster that can attack this turn, although that doesn't really matter with The Dark Door active, it can attack directly! And I select my Gustav Max!"

"Wait, what!?"

"Heavy Armored Train Ironwolf, clear a path with your Howling Whistle!"

One of the orbs entered the mouth of the Machine-type (OLU 2-1), which let out the same whistle from before, only louder, as the dragons moved aside, leaving a clear path for Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max to attack directly.

"No…no, this can't be happening!"

"Now finish him off with Gustav Hammer!"

His monster once again formed the massive hammer, and moved forward until it was right in front of the chief magistrate. It swung its weapon down, with the hammerhead landing right in front of the village leader, propelling him backwards with a scream and knocking him onto his back (Chief Magistrate: 2400-0 LP)(Winner: Anthony).

"And that's how it's done!" shouted Anthony, as he put his sunglasses back onto his hat while the holograms faded away. The crowd broke into cheering, and the dazed chief magistrate slowly got up to his feet, with the victor walking up to him.

"You know what this means, right? Rinrin is leaving with us."

The chief magistrate begrudgingly nodded. "Fine."

"And last time I checked, you still owe us a thousand copper for having Rinrin apologize for the graffiti."

Grumbling curses, the chief magistrate turned to his adviser. "Go fetch them their payment."

"Yes, sir."

The two girls then ran up to Anthony and locked him in two bear hugs. "That was excellent, Anthony! You were incredible out there!"

"And you saved Rinrin, big bro!"

Anthony simply chuckled and returned the hugs. "Anything for my friends."

As they broke up their hug, the adviser returned with a leather pouch. "One thousand copper. I counted."

"That was fast," said Kan'u, accepting the bag, as the chief magistrate approached Anthony.

"You know, you really are quite skilled. Why don't you stay here, as an enforcer to deal with any bandits? I could pay you double, or even triple the amount that I pay my guards!"

Anthony shook his head. "A tempting offer, but I'm gonna have to decline. Aisha and Rinrin need me." And after Chohi said her farewells to her friends, the three duelists departed to parts unknown, ready to face any challenges that came their way.

* * *

 **Holy crap, Batman! A new omake, following the anime storyline, that has Synchro and Xyz Monsters in it!? Have I gone mad!? Well, I can't be too sure, but still, this must be a treat, huh!? Now for decks! Anthony uses Railway cards for in-story reasons, and to fit the "future" theme of his cards. Aisha uses Six Samurai cards for in-story reasons, and to fit her role and personality. Rinrin uses Frightfur cards because like her, they start off cute and cuddly, but in the heat of battle, they're a force to be reckoned with. And the chief magistrate just uses Dragons with a gem theme, to fit his personality. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy, as I really poured my heart and soul into this one. Starpion out!**


End file.
